Corporate America now has more debt than at any other time in history.

U.S. companies, encouraged by a decade of unbelievably low borrowing costs, are sitting on $6.3 trillion of debt, according to S&P Global Ratings. That sum, which excludes banks, is more than before the Great Recession — or any other time in history.

Advertisement

Companies have used that debt to invest in the future, make splashy acquisitions and reward shareholders with a bonanza of stock buybacks.

After years of extraordinarily low interest rates, borrowing costs are finally on the rise, which makes it more expensive for companies to refinance debt when it comes due. Those costs will only rise further if inflation heats up, forcing the Federal Reserve to raise rates more rapidly.

As of the end of 2017, just seven companies claimed $800 billion of cash: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Cisco, Oracle, AT&T and Amgen.